The Gritti Palace has been a Venetian landmark for more than five centuries. The palazzo took its Gothic shape under the Pisani family in 1475, became the private residence of Doge Andrea Gritti in 1525, and has carried his name ever since. Today it faces Santa Maria della Salute across the Grand Canal, a few minutes’ walk from San Marco.
Venice’s hotel map has changed sharply in the past year, with the Danieli reopened and new palazzi opening in Cannaregio. The Gritti’s continuing appeal is that it has kept pace without losing itself. A complete restoration in 2013, a cooking school, a Riva speedboat and a Sisley spa sit alongside the literary suites and the canal-side terrace that made it famous, and the MICHELIN Guide rates it a Two-Key hotel.
A doge’s house, and a writer’s one
In the centuries after Doge Gritti, the palazzo passed through other noble families and visitors. One of them changed how the world sees Venice: according to the hotel, John Ruskin and his young wife Effie spent a long period here, and Ruskin wrote The Stones of Venice during that time. Ernest Hemingway and W. Somerset Maugham followed in the twentieth century. Maugham’s line that “at The Gritti you are not a guest, but a friend” is still quoted by the hotel.
The Gritti later became part of CIGA, the Compagnia Italiana Grandi Alberghi, from which today’s Luxury Collection brand traces its roots. That lineage matters: this is one of the hotels that shaped what Europe expects of a palace hotel.
The 2013 restoration
The restoration’s brief was the building’s past as a family home, a place of celebration and a patron of the arts. Rooms are dressed in period colors, Venetian velvets, long Rococo sofas and hand-made Girandole mirrors under Murano chandeliers. Reproductions of rare archive fabrics from Rubelli, the old Venetian textile house, cover walls and furniture, and antiques and local artworks fill the public rooms. It is richly Venetian rather than generically grand.
Rooms and the literary suites
There are 82 rooms and suites, and the signature suites are the hotel’s literary memory. The Ernest Hemingway Suite, 92 square meters on a corner of the building, has French doors to stand-up balconies over the Grand Canal; Hemingway wrote passages of Across the River and into the Trees during his stays. The 81-square-meter Somerset Maugham Royal Suite sits on the first piano nobile, with balconies facing the Grand Canal, San Giorgio, the Salute and Punta della Dogana. Other suites are named for John Ruskin and for Venetian landmarks.
Which room to book
At the Gritti, the view is the upgrade. The four Patron Canal Suites, 61 to 82 square meters, are the most accessible way to secure Grand Canal windows and a separate living room. The literary suites add history and corner positions. At the top, the two-story Redentore Suite has 76 square meters inside and a 250-square-meter roof terrace with a spa pool, a rare private outdoor space in a city where almost none exists. Travelers on a shorter stay who mostly plan to be out should weigh whether a canal view justifies the step up; those celebrating an occasion will find it does.
Riva Lounge and The Gritti Terrace
The Riva Lounge, the hotel’s bar terrace on the Grand Canal, is designed around the varnished wood and polished steel of Riva yachts, and is open from early evening until late facing the Salute. The Gritti Terrace serves lunch and a tasting menu of Venetian dishes on the water, but only seasonally, from April to October.
Club del Doge and Bar Longhi
Club del Doge is the year-round restaurant, restored by Venetian artisans and open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with a formal dress code and Grand Canal views. Bar Longhi is known for its walls of etched Venetian mirror, its classic and craft cocktails and its spritz.
The Epicurean School, the spa and the boat
The Gritti Epicurean School has hosted Venetian society and visitors for wine tastings, cooking workshops and celebrations since 1975. Today Executive Chef Alberto Fol and his sous-chefs lead hands-on classes, chef’s-table dinners and visits to the Rialto Market, and sommeliers run tastings. For travelers who would rather cook than be served, it is one of the more genuine ways into Venetian food.
The Gritti SPA is branded by Sisley Paris, with three treatment suites and a guest-only fitness suite. From April to September, “Il Doge,” the hotel’s Aquariva speedboat, runs tailored excursions around the northern and southern lagoon.
How it compares
The top of the Venice market is unusually crowded. The Danieli has reopened under Four Seasons on the Riva degli Schiavoni. Aman Venice offers a private palazzo in San Polo. Orient Express Venezia has opened in a fifteenth-century palace in quiet Cannaregio. The Gritti’s case rests on position, directly on the Grand Canal facing the Salute, and on an intimate scale and continuity of hotel life that newer arrivals cannot replicate.
There are trade-offs. Italian rules for historic palaces mean no in-room coffee makers or irons, although room service and pressing fill the gap. The spa is small, the terrace dining is seasonal, and the area around San Marco is busy by day.
Who should stay
The Gritti Palace suits couples on an anniversary, readers on a literary pilgrimage, food lovers drawn to the Epicurean School and first-time visitors who want classic Grand Canal Venice. Those who prefer a contemporary look or a quieter neighborhood may be happier elsewhere.
Planning Your Stay at The Gritti Palace
Location: Campo Santa Maria del Giglio, San Marco, on the Grand Canal, with a private pier for water taxis.
Hotel style: Fifteenth-century palazzo restored in 2013, with 82 rooms and suites.
Best for: Anniversaries, literary travelers, food lovers, first-time visitors.
Room to book: A Patron Canal Suite for Grand Canal views; the Redentore Suite for its roof terrace.
Reserve ahead: Epicurean School classes, Riva yacht excursions (April to September), Gritti Terrace lunches (April to October) and water-taxi or hostess-assisted airport transfers.
Good to know: Hotel guests are exempt from Venice’s day-visitor access fee.
Best time to visit: See our guide to the best time to visit Venice, or plan a short stay with 48 hours in Venice.
Reservations: Through the official Gritti Palace website.
The Final Word
The Gritti Palace remains one of Venice’s most coveted addresses because it offers what newer hotels cannot buy: five centuries of history, a front-row seat on the Grand Canal and a guest book that includes Ruskin and Hemingway. Its modern additions keep it current without diluting that inheritance.
This In-Depth Guide is based on the hotel’s official materials and independent reporting, verified October 18, 2026.
